I am currently working for a contact manufacturer in Tempe, Arizona (TJM Electronics). I have seen countless posts from people asking about getting PCBs built. Since I am a fellow PIC designer I am posting this here in case someone is in need of this type of service. We can populate PCBs and do "flying probe" testing if the customer requires it. We have multiple pick and place machines as well as reflow ovens. We can do fine pitch parts as well as BGAs (even re-ball them). We also do cable assebly work, both military and commercial. We are very price friendly for low volume orders. Our quality is excellent and our location in Arizona gives us local access to many different types of vendors, including bare PCBs, machine / metal work, conformal coating services and parts procurement. Our website is located here: http://www.tjmelectronics.com

Hopefully this information will help anyone looking to get some PCBs made! BTW, we're very "PIC" friendly, MICROCHIP tempe is a 5 minute walk from my door :)

On Sep 28, 2004, at 1:11 PM, Steve Kosmerchock wrote:
>
> I am currently working for a contact manufacturer in Tempe...

Nicely done. Right topic heading and everything...

I've always wanted to have a sort of "rule of thumb" for figuring out
how much it might cost to have a board professionally manufactured,
rather than submitting each design for quotes, etc. It would have an
effect on how I design boards, for instance. Do you have any ideas
in that direction? Something based on part count, pin count, or
something
like that. What sort of thing results in increased costs? What results
in decreased costs?